Dental crisis: Brits forced to pulling their own teeth amid NHS shortage

Britons are increasingly forced to pull their teeth due to NHS dental shortages, with 13 million people waiting for care and many unable to afford private treatment

In a troubling sign of the growing dental crisis in the UK, many Britons are being left with no choice but to perform their own dental procedures, including pulling their own teeth.

 

Linda Colla, 75, became one such individual after being forced to remove her teeth due to a seven-year wait for an NHS (National Health Service) dentist appointment.

 

Colla, who had struggled with gum disease since her thirties—attributing it to excessive coffee, wine, and smoking—began replacing her natural teeth with dentures in her late thirties. However, after relocating to East Devon in 2018, she struggled to find an NHS dentist willing to accept her as a patient. Most clinics were either not taking NHS patients or lacked the capacity for new appointments, according to The Guardian.

 

 

Placed on a waiting list for treatment, Colla remained unheard of even after seven years. With only three severely damaged teeth left, she endured constant pain. Unable to afford the £150 required for private dental care, she was left with no choice but to take matters into her own hands. With no dentist available, she resorted to extracting her remaining teeth herself—using a tissue for grip and pulling them out gradually. Starting with her front incisor, she removed each tooth over several weeks. While the process was painful, she said that the teeth were already so loose that it was a matter of extracting them bit by bit.

 

DIY dentistry: A growing and dangerous trend 

Colla’s story is far from unique. In March 2023, British data analytics firm YouGov conducted a survey revealing that 10 per cent of Britons had resorted to performing their own dental work, with 34 per cent of these individuals having tried to pull out their own teeth. The rise of ‘DIY dentistry’ has become a concerning trend as the shortage of accessible NHS dental care worsens.

 

According to an analysis by the British Dental Association, around 13 million people in the UK have an unmet need for dental care. This includes 5.6 million individuals who have tried and failed to secure an appointment over the past two years, and 5.4 million who didn’t even attempt to get an appointment because they thought it would be impossible. 

 

The data also highlighted that around 1.25 million people were deterred from seeking dental treatment due to the high costs involved. Meanwhile, an estimated 780,000 people are currently on waiting lists for NHS dental care.

 

Why are so many dentists leaving NHS care?

 

The shortage of available NHS dentists is a contributing factor to this crisis. The British Dental Association (BDA) also revealed that the number of dentists providing NHS care has been steadily declining as many practitioners are leaving the system. The low reimbursement rates for NHS dental procedures mean that many dentists are finding it increasingly difficult to continue offering services for the NHS. In fact, many dental surgeries are now operating at a loss, with dentists subsidising NHS care with private work in order to stay afloat. For instance, dentists lose up to £42.60 every time they fit dentures under NHS rates and £7.69 for each new patient examination. This financial strain has led to a significant reduction in NHS dental work, with private care now making up almost two-thirds of the UK’s dental services.

 

The impact of this situation has left many people with limited options. Colla's story is just one example of the painful reality that patients like her face. As dentists continue to leave the NHS and fewer appointments are available, the risk of widespread "dental deserts" across the country grows. The government's response to the crisis has been slow, with only vague promises of reform. In December, NHS figures revealed that nearly 94 per cent of people who tried to access NHS dental care in the previous 28 days were unsuccessful.

 

NHS dental crisis leaves millions stranded

 

In December, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that 94.1 per cent of people who tried to get NHS dental care in the previous month were unsuccessful. These findings were further supported by reports from the BDA, which highlighted that many practices listed as accepting new patients on the NHS website were, in fact, not accepting them at all. When the BDA and Daily Mirror called 100 of these practices, 86 turned away potential patients.

 

Linda Colla was eventually able to scrape together enough money to pay privately for a procedure to replace the missing teeth. Despite the high cost, she was able to have three new teeth placed on a plate. However, she remains a rarity in terms of access to care, as many Britons simply cannot afford private treatments.

 

This growing crisis has led to a warning from the BDA that the NHS dental system is on the brink of collapse. As practices close or scale back NHS care, a severe shortage of dental services threatens to leave millions without access to vital treatment. Furthermore, scammers are preying on vulnerable patients, offering fake NHS appointments for a fee, particularly in areas like Essex, Devon, Merseyside, Norfolk, and Suffolk.

 

Govt promises reform, but is it too late?

 

The government has acknowledged the challenges faced by NHS dentistry but has yet to deliver concrete solutions. In recent discussions, Health Secretary Wes Streeting warned that NHS dentistry was “at death’s door”, and promised to address the issue with reform plans, including the introduction of an additional 700,000 NHS-funded appointments. However, the BDA has slammed the lack of progress in addressing these issues, and without significant action, the future of NHS dental care in the UK remains uncertain.